Junk-- getting rid of it

[One Half Full]

While living in my crummy house, not having any money, I became something of a hoarder. I never knew when something would come in handy, or if something could be "sold on eBay." Now, looking forward to BK and foreclosure, I am whittling down my garbage to a manageable "apartment" size. I am keeping only the things that have value, and that I use "all the time." I'm not keeping things I use only rarely, or things I haven't looked at or cared about for 5 years. In the end, I want to be able to hire a rental truck (a small one) and load it with minimal help and be able to move where I please, when I please.

Since I am getting rid of all this stuff (donating it not selling it,) I don't think I should list any of it as "exemptions." I am even getting rid of the "big" bed and mattress and going more for a "futon," which can be folded and moved.

anyone else here "downsize?" during, before, after BK?

[AMISLANDER]

While living in my crummy house, not having any money, I became something of a hoarder. I never knew when something would come in handy, or if something could be "sold on eBay." Now, looking forward to BK and foreclosure, I am whittling down my garbage to a manageable "apartment" size. I am keeping only the things that have value, and that I use "all the time." I'm not keeping things I use only rarely, or things I haven't looked at or cared about for 5 years. In the end, I want to be able to hire a rental truck (a small one) and load it with minimal help and be able to move where I please, when I please.

Since I am getting rid of all this stuff (donating it not selling it,) I don't think I should list any of it as "exemptions." I am even getting rid of the "big" bed and mattress and going more for a "futon," which can be folded and moved.

anyone else here "downsize?" during, before, after BK?

ABSOLUTELY! Since all the furniture I had was donated to me, I never even listed anything...it's like, if it all blew away in a hurricane, it would have been no big deal....when I moved from my apartment, last year, into this house where it's divided into four seperate apartments, I, again, went through my plastic "box" containers & got rid of papers that I felt I no longer had a need for....I got rid of clothes, shoes, (gave that stuff to shelters for battered women), just all that stuff that accumulates....and it felt good. I kept only the necessary stuff...(every hear the George Carlin monologue about stuff and island hopping?)....well, the most necessary stuff are my income tax returns and baby pictures of my children...along with a toothbrush and a warm comforter! I hate spending lots of money on most clothing items because I grow tired of things fast....now I do have to admit, I bought a pair of jeans back in 2002 (the infamous $250 pair which no one can understand why....well) and I am still wearing those jeans and get compliments up the wazoo on them...so, I guess now, six years later those jeans could be said to have cost me $41/year in the scheme of things...most expensive pair ever but have lasted long too!

[Minnymouth]

YEP - if your going to do some serious debt (housecleaning), you might as well do some serious "junk" (housecleaning) and make a few bucks at a yard sale, donate to the needy, or trash as needed....

Will be a good feeling all the way around.

Clean it up, trash it and downsize as necessary....

Get a whole new "fresh start" all the way around.....

[HeatherB]

feels great.

I downsized when I let the house go and moved to an apartment. I didn't take our crappy couch or sofa. As far as livingroom furniture, all I took was 2 chairs (the fold up cushion kind), the entertainment center (with TV and Stereo, game system, and DVDs).

Other big stuff - bed, crib, fridge, washer/dryer, microwave, kitchen table and hutch, and two small 5 drawer dressers.

I went through my clothes and gave away half of them. Same with my husband and son's clothes.

I probably left a good truck load of CRAP behind in the house. (old crappy furniture, old computers that didn't work, a broken child's bed, a few unstable dresserss, and a lot of clutter.)

I am SO happy now that stuff is so simple. Much easier to keep track of, clean, organize now. I'm a bit of a packrack and things hold sentiment to me. However, letting them go, I would tell myself that I am not erasing that memory, just the object. (was the most difficult to do with anything that reminded me of my mom)

Simplify! It really is less stress.

[One Half Full]

I have thought "Yard Sale" but I really don't want to bother. I work on Fri, Sat, Sun, and since I work nights, I am not up in the early morning. I also don't have any help, so frankly, I'm just going to call the salvation army pick up and call it "charity." I might leave stuff. It seems traditional for forclosures to sort of leave a mess behind. I think of it a a parting rasberry for the mortgage company. Unfortunately, I must make sure absolutely no paperwork is left behind. This is a lot of Work. Things are starting to clear up already.

I don't mind kicking sand in the face of the banks. They've earned every grain.

[PaKettle]

Yup, I just told my wife the other day, "As soon as we get our discharge, I'm going to start selling some junk on ebay!" and other places. It ain't worth a whole lot, the main thing is to just get rid of all this junk we don't need and we may as well get a few pennies for it while we're at it. I have some old cd's, books, clothes, magazines (old, collectible) and etc. that we are going to start going through and selling some on ebay and other stuff we'll just throw out or give away.

It'll soon enough be Spring and we're going to have a major Spring Cleaning! We haven't got our discharge yet but it is on its way!

It's amazing the JUNK you can sell on ebay. My friend has a business where she goes to garage sales and yard sales and buys junk for pennies and sells it for dollars on ebay. I look at it and go, "You mean, people actually BUY that JUNK??!!" Apparently, they do.
;-D

[tinroofrusted]

Craigs List should be your best friend!

It's free to advertise, you can do it anonymously, and make some money from your "junk!"

[One Half Full]

On the 4th (March) I have an appointment for a big truck to come and get my big furniture to donate to a very good local charity that feeds the poor in our area. This is not a big national charity that helps people only after paying its CEOs the big bucks.

I guess I could be making money on it, but I feel that I should at least do something good for society. I could have had a garage sale, but what a hassle. I'll also have a great deduction for next years taxes.

So my overage of furniture problem will be solved. I will have only enough furniture for a small apartment. I'll also have furniture that actually goes together (all in one style). I need to get another dining room table, but hey, those are the breaks.

On the 5th, I will be in shock, I'll tell you! All those boxes gone! Yippie!!!